WKCTC will hold fall commencement at the Carson Center December 12

Paducah, KY (12/06/2022) — West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) will honor more than 900 candidates for graduation during its fall commencement December 12 at the Carson Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Paducah.

Sarah Ladd, a 2017 alumna of WKCTC, returns to Paducah as the featured speaker for the ceremony which begins at 7 p.m. Jessica "Jae" Freeman, also of Paducah, is the evening's student speaker.

After graduating from WKCTC, Ladd earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky in journalism and creative writing, and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Spalding University. A Kentucky journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist, she has covered topics ranging from higher education to COVID-19 and health. She currently works at a nonprofit newsroom in Frankfort covering health and health policy for the state. In 2020, she covered the protests in Louisville over the police killing of Breonna Taylor for The Courier Journal, work that was honored by the Pulitzer Prizes.

Ladd said she has reflected back to what advice helped her the most in the past, particularly as she was starting her educational journey at WKCTC. In her comments, she said she will pass those lessons and memories on to the students, adding she hopes they will help them as much as they have helped her.

Ladd who was homeschooled throughout her life said she was nervous when she first began at the college. "About seven years ago, I arrived on the WKCTC campus early in the morning, completely green and terrified of what college meant for me," said Ladd, who said it was her first experience in a public education space at 21 years old.

"I'd only recently left my family's West Kentucky farm, where I grew up pretty isolated from modern life. Education was not encouraged, especially for women, in my childhood circles," said Ladd.

She said her first class was English 101, and the professor gave an inspirational talk before class, words Ladd said she remembers to this day. "They gave me this feeling of awethat I had something special in me that could help others," said the 28-year-old, adding that each student has something special inside them as well "that if cultivated and honored, can add something of beauty to the world."

For Jae Freeman, the day of commencement is special for several reasons, two in particular. "I am so excited that I get to be the student speaker to my fellow students, and I'm celebrating my 36th birthday at the same time. What a day!" she said.

A married mother of three, Freeman is earning an associate's degree in criminal justice, and remains the current president of Alpha Epsilon Beta, the college's criminal justice club.

Perseverance is a word Freeman knows well. A native of Florida, she began living in Paducah and attending WKCTC at the beginning of the pandemic after living in several locations in search of doctors that could effectively treat a chronic pain condition she lives with daily.

"I found doctors that have turned my life around, and I decided I could finally take on going back to school. I feel so blessed to have ended up at WKCTC," said Freeman.

After dropping out of school, she earned her GED at age 16. "Despite poverty, despite pain, despite wanting to just give up on life several timesdespite all the odds stacked against me, I stand here today because I'm determined, because I didn't let inconveniences become excuses," said Freeman, who is graduating with a 4.0 GPA.

She credits her family, friends and WKCTC instructors for helping her get where she is today. She strives every day to motivate her three children and others like herself. "It's never too late to strive for more, and it's never out of reach!"

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